Former Wild star Brian Rolston having a Devil of a time playing for New Jersey

Former Wild star is upbeat but struggling in second stint in New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. — Brian Rolston's second stint in New Jersey has not gone as he, or the Devils, expected, reaching a nadir late last month when he was twice placed on waivers.

It didn't feel good.

"It was a shock — humbling," Rolston said. "But at the same time, you saw it coming, you know? Regardless of whether it was a trade or being put on waivers."

Rolston was back in the Devils' lineup for Tuesday's game against the Wild at Prudential Center, putting into stark relief everything that has happened since he left Minnesota as a free agent and signed a four-year $20.1 million deal.

With a cap hit of $5.062 million, he's the Devils' third highest-paid player, which no doubt played a large part in general manager Lou Lamoriello's decision to place him on waivers, then re-entry waivers.

"I have a big salary, and I haven't produced up to that number, for sure," Rolston said. "And you have to take responsibility for that."

It appears Rolston's best years will have been in Minnesota, where he scored 34, 31 and 31 goals, topped by a career-high 79 points in 2005-06. He was 15-17—32 for the Devils in 2008-09, and 20-17—37 last season, prompting speculation that Jersey would try to trade him to dump salary.

He started this season by having a sports hernia repaired, missing 14 games. Upon returning, he had just five points in 19 games. Jacques Lemaire replaced fired coach John MacLean on Dec. 24 and DNP'd Rolston in two of his first five games.

"He was a little out of shape, and the last few days he's been working hard," Lemaire said.

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"It's going to take a couple of games, but I think he'll be OK."

A frequent captain during his days with the Wild, Rolston said he refuses to mope, though he acknowledged that once he was waived, "I was hoping I could go somewhere and get a fresh start.

"It can be difficult, but the bottom line is it's not going to help to dwell on it, or to speculate," Rolston said. "I try to live in the present as much as I can. It's been tough the past two weeks; there's no question about that. But I don't choose to come in and be sour."

Spurgeon gets a shot: With Marek Zidlicky out indefinitely, Wild coach Todd Richards is looking for a blue liner with a right-handed shot to man the point on power plays. He planned to give rookie Jared Spurgeon first shot Tuesday with his first NHL special- teams play.

"Just because we have to see if he can do it," Richards said. "If not, we might have to look at someone else."

Spurgeon and Clayton Stoner have been filling in the blanks on the blue line, and the Wild entered play Tuesday 5-2-1 in their past eight games. But they haven't earned permanent jobs.

"We still have other guys in Houston," Richards noted.

Defenseman Maxim Noreau, 24, is a right-handed shot with seven goals among 23 points in Houston, and at 6-feet, 195 pounds, he's much bigger than Spurgeon (5-9, 185). But he's also a minus-6 in the AHL.

Briefly: Winger Kyle Brodziak needed six stitches in his nose and five more over his right eye after taking a puck to the face in the third period.

"I was trying to shoot it out, and I think it ricocheted off their guy and came back," he said. "I don't know how the puck got me in two spots."

Goaltender Nik Backstrom participated in Tuesday's morning skate but still is nursing a lower body injury and likely won't play until Saturday at Pittsburgh, Richards said. Antti Miettinen (charley horse) also sat out Tuesday.